The Delta's Daughter Chapter 348

MIKE

"What the fuck is she doing here?" I say to myself, blocking out the banter between my father and Uncle Marcus.

I watch the little thief make her way down the steps onto the main floor, accompanied by Rogue. Duke paces in my head, a low growl emitting from him. He doesn't like the way our mate feels so comfortable with Rogue or the way they seem to easily converse.

'Shut up!' I chastise Duke, his jealous growl making my muscle bunch by pushing his feelings onto me.

My father clamps his hand down on my shoulder and chuckles. "You have your work cut out for you today son," He motions towards my mate with his head.

"Oh, is that her?" Uncle Marcus asks and rubs his hands together. Fucker.

Nothing stays a secret around here. If one of us knows, everyone knows. No doubt Lamia and Kellen spilled that the thief was my mate. Uncle Marcus and my father had stepped in and filled the father figure role when Kellen's parents died. And when Kellen went missing for those few months and I was out looking for him, the former Beta and Delta handled the kingdom in his stead.

They were as close as Lamia, Kellen and I were. So not much stayed a secret between our families.

I try to ignore her scent. I try to bury it under the stench of sweat and blood that lingered in the indoor training facility. It was no use. Her sweet smell invaded my nose, had Duke pining, and my dick reacting.

Her slim legs poked out from an oversized hoody. But I had not forgotten what she looked like in just a pair of leggings and a sports bra. It's an image ingrained into my brain, just like the image of her naked against the tree the night I caught her.

I wanted to kick her out of here, just so I wasn't distracted, but I couldn't do that. Not without catching flack from my father and Uncle Marcus.

I watched her from the corner of my eye as she took up space on the mats next to Rogue. I was guessing that Tala must have sent her guard dog to keep an eye on Lyric. Either to piss me off or because she was just that kind that she didn't want Lyric getting bullied by pack members. It was probably both.

I blew my whistle taking up my position at the front of the class, "Line up pups!" I holler. "Put yourself in pairs, we are going to warm up with some hand-to-hand combat. Then move on to combinations. Rotate partners every 10 minutes." The warriors quickly pair themselves up and I notice Rogue has paired himself with Lyric.

I smirk, because I know how good Rogue is. He fought in the Gladiator games with Kellen and that arena was no joke. It was more dangerous than fighting a battle. The odds were always stacked against you, and I can say for a fact it messed both Kellen and Rogue up mentally.

The Gladiator games were so dangerous that Kellen literally died at the hands of the deranged Alpha that held them.

'Dark days' Duke says to me.

'Dark days indeed.' I reply shaking off the horrible memory of feeling Kellen's life slip away and also remembering what happened to me and the other three Knights when his heart stopped.

My thoughts once again drifted to Jonda. It had been too long with no word from her. Every clue my trackers had come across led to a dead end. The ice and snow ensured that if there had been any tracks, they were long covered up along with her scent.

Last night I reached out to Damon and asked for his help. In hopes that he could use his advanced technical skills to track her down. I hadn't heard from him yet, and that was not a promising sign.

My attention was pulled back to the here and now when a low male growl emitted from the far side of the room. I twist my body around and find Lyric with her legs wrapped around one of our warrior's necks, and his arm bent in a painful position as she pulls at it, choking him out.

Her eyes seem to gleam with a dark shade of purple encompassing those velvet-brown eyes. She grits her teeth and I see her wolf's fangs poke out. She's clearly ready to shift, her wolf taking over.

"You better stop her son before she wolfs out." My father says lowly in my ear.

I hesitate. I want to watch what she does, enthralled by her strength for such a small female. Although not as small as Morgan or Jonda. Maybe slightly taller than Tala. I whistle loudly catching everyone's attention except hers.

"Break!" I shouted, moving with inhuman speed and grabbing my mate around the waist, and dragging her off from around the warrior. Lyric lashes out at me, catching my jaw with a solid punch. I shake it off and attempt to grab her again. She's fast, and in flight or fight mode for a reason I don't understand. She attacks me again, this delivering a roundhouse kick at my face.

I manage to lean back and avoid the hit, but she's very quick and sweeps at my feet. I don't go down, and lunge for her. Knocking her to the ground and landing on top of her.

She removed her hoody at some point and my gaze lingers on the heavy rise and fall of her chest. Her pebbled nipples strained against the tight fabric of her sports bra.

Lyrics' legs wrap around my torso, squeezing tightly. I pin her hands above her head so she can't move, hoping to calm her down from whatever it was that sent her and her wolf into a frenzy. Her scent surrounds me, arousal accompanied by her panic. Squirming against me, her center rubs against my cock. I hold my breath because the friction of her rubbing on me, her scent, and the tingles that shoot down my arms from my hand is a sensation I wasn't prepared for. One that has my manhood thickening by the second, Lyric was oblivious to what she was doing to me.

I growl in a warning tone and once again she tries to get out of my hold by bucking against me. Duke runs circles in my mind, giddy as all fuck wanting me to mark his mate. "Stop moving." I grit the words out, trying hard not to imagine what it would feel like to sink into her.

"Get off me!" She hisses trying to pull her arms free from my tight grip. I don't want to hurt her, but I know I'm holding her so tight she will have bruises.

"Not until you calm down," I reply with a tone just as tight as my grip on her. She growls again and her hips buck. I thrust my hips into her, making sure she can feel what she's doing to me, "Calm down before my wolf takes over little thief." This time my voice is low, but still gravelly, so only she can hear me.

She gasps and suddenly stills when she feels my hard length against her covered pussy. All the fight wooshes out of her at once. Her wolf recedes, leaving fear and disgust to fill her eyes and Lyric trembling. My chest constricts with pain as she turns her face from me. "Please don't." She whispers the plea. Immediately my cock becomes flaccid as her anxiety registers.

I let go of her wrists and stumble back, landing on my ass. She's afraid of me. And because I'm the royal Beta. She was afraid of what I could do to her, what I would do to her as my mate. I was finding it hard to comprehend her fear of intimacy. She was afraid of sex.

I stare at her as she rolls to the side, gets up, and walks off.

*Follow her.* I tell Rogue through a mind link. He nods and takes off after my little mate.

As soon as training is finished, I mind link Rogue to ask where Lyric is. He tells me she went straight back to her suite and hasn't come out since. Instead of going home or to my parent's place, which is where I have been staying the past week, which is only across the hall from mine and Jonda's place, I head straight for the suite Lyric and Zane are staying in.

Once the warrior had come too, I asked him what he did to cause Lyric to freak out like she did. He told me he had commented on how hot she was and how he would like a taste of her. Needless to say, I knocked the fucker back out. He had no idea she was my mate, or I don't think he would have even confessed what he said, let alone say it in the first place. Either way, A warrior shouldn't be commenting on that to any female, especially during training.

I knock on the door and listen for her footsteps. The door swings open a moment later, without me hearing her approach.

"What do you want?" She asks coldly, looking me up and down.

"Can I speak with you?"

"If you are here to reprimand me, -"

"The warrior told me what he said, I'm not here to tell you off." I see the moment she concedes, her shoulders drop, and the tension alleviates from her back. Her eyes soften slightly, and she steps back gesturing for me to come in.

As soon as I step inside, I realize what a grave mistake I have made coming inside alone. Alone with her. "Is Zane and Lizzy here?" I ask knowing full well they aren't. I still look around expecting the little tyke to come bounding in. I'm almost disappointed when he doesn't.

"No, he's at pup care." I turn to face her once I reach the sitting area. Lyric stands there with her arms crossed, pushing her tits up and closer together. I find my eyes dragging down over her body and appreciating her curves for the second time today. "Can I help you with something Beta Mike?" Her tone is just as unwelcoming as her eyes when I finally meet them, and she looks at me with disdain and dare I say disgust.

Duke whimpers in my head when he too feels her heated stare.

I'm not even sure why I'm here, why I came to check on her. It's the mate bond I tell myself. "Why did his comment get you so badly? You almost shifted on the mats."

"He disrespected me. I got out of hand, but I won't have a male speak to me like that." She says unapologetically and mumbles something else I didn't catch.

I bob my head in understanding and find myself taking a step closer to her. Lyric drops her arms and takes a step back. Her eyes widened with surprise and fear.

Like a predator stalking its prey, I take another step. Again, she steps back. I play this game until she is backed up against the breakfast counter that separates the sitting room from the kitchen. My hands come up on either side of her, caging Lyric in against the counter. I leaned in only inches from her feeling her erratic breathing fan across my face. "Why are you so scared of me?" I search her eyes for the answer when she says nothing.

My hands move closer, and my breathing grows heavier. I gulp in her peachy scent and my eyes flutter as I taste her on my tongue. Her whole body stiffens, and the smell of her fear fills the air once again.

"I-I think you should leave Beta." She stumbles over her words jarring me from the trance I was in. I immediately backed up much to Duke's protest. He wanted to kiss her, taste her lips, and get lost in his mate.

I swipe my hand down my face and swallow my desire. Confused by how she could be so fearless and take down a warrior twice her size, yet crumble when the one person she isn't meant to fear is standing right before her. "Why do you fear me, Lyric?" My hand lifts and I tuck a stray strand of her chocolate brown hair behind her ear, letting my finger brush against her cheek.

That one touch sends sparks up my arm, creating a new spark of the same desire I felt just moments ago, and when I had her pinned beneath me earlier. Except she flinches and that desire is replaced with dejection by her rejection and my heartaches for a mate I wanted nothing to do with.

"What do you want from me Beta?" She shuffles around to the other side of the counter, putting more space and a barrier between us.

What do I want? I have no idea what I want.

"I told you I would accept your rejection if you protected my son. It doesn't look like I'm going to jail now, but I still stand by my deal. You can have your chosen mate; I won't be a problem or stand in your way. I promise. I am only interested in keeping Zane safe." Her words cause me to internally flinch while keeping my expression stoic. But I won't deny that they stung.

"Jonda." I rasp. "Her name is Jonda, and she has disappeared. Besides I don't think she's mine anymore." My emotions become confused again and so does Dukes, he wants his mate but like me, he won't forget about Jonda. He still loves her, and I think I still want her. I'm not sure.

Does she still want me though now that Rhett is in the picture? And can I reject my mate now? "I'm sorry I shouldn't have come." I shake my head and turn to walk away. But stop mid-step when I hear the softness and sadness in Lyric's voice.

"I can't be yours. You can't want me." I turn to look at her, my brows pull together, "I don't want a mate. I don't want to be anyone's mate." There's so much grief in her voice and an abundance of resolution. It's as if she believes she's not good enough for me.

A few days ago, I would have agreed. That was when I thought she was a thieving murderer. I've seen a different side of her, I know things about her now. And those things I now know are slowly starting to change my mind about her, whether I want them to or not.

I chuckle, except there's nothing funny about what she said to me. But now my defenses are up, and I find myself saying in the coldest unemotional tone I can muster "I don't want you either."

With that I turn and leave her suite, chastising myself for being an asshole the whole walk back to my parent's apartment. Because I know I didn't mean what I said, and Duke is flipping out mentally yelling at me to go back to his mate.

I slam the door and make my way to my childhood bedroom, slamming that door too. I peel my shorts and shirt off, tossing them in the corner, and stomping to the shower. I turn the water on leaving it on cold, hoping that will help soothe the burning desire I have to walk my ass back to her suite and show her exactly what she's missing out on.

I don't want to do it, but as horny as I am, and as frustrated as my little thief has made me, I need a release and I find my eyes closing as I wrap my hand around my bobbing cock. I begin to stroke myself recalling the feel of Lyrics' body beneath me. I try to shake her image away but it's too late. I stroke myself harder, tighter until her name leaves my lips and my seed spills onto the shower floor.

The release is welcomed. The feeling of wanting Lyric? Not so much. Three years ago, I looked forward to meeting my mate. Then, I saw what Lamia went through and I wasn't so excited. And then I met Jonda. She should have been my mate. It was Jonda I fell in love with, it was Jonda my wolf pined for.

More fool me for thinking I could be happy, for thinking the goddess would let me. And Duke, he was enamored by the idea of a mate. I still didn't understand why he was initially shocked that we even had one. I knew it was a huge possibility that we would find our mate, but he seemed to be shocked by it and now, like me, he too was confused. He too had fallen hard for Jonda, but he couldn't deny the pull to Lyric. And neither could I.

I rinse down and grab a towel, feeling guilty that I jerked off to the image of the little thief and not the one I was going to choose.

"Fuck this shit." I curse out loud. Trying to convince myself that I don't care and to let it just roll off me. But the thought is easier to think than to actually do.